India conducts successful flight test of Akash missile

Bhubaneswar, May 1: India Thursday successfully test fired its Akash medium range surface-to-air missile from a defence base in Odisha, officials said.

The indigenously developed missile with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km was test fired from the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, 230 km from Bhubaneswar.

"The test was conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF). It was successful," Test Range Director M.V.K.V. Prasad told IANS.

Akash was earlier successfully tested a number of times from the same defence base last month. Prasad said preparations are underway for a few more tests of the missile from the same base within the next few days.

The 700-kg all-weather missile can carry a 60-kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach 2.5. It can operate autonomously and simultaneously engage and neutralise different aerial targets.

It can be launched from static or mobile platforms, enabling flexible deployment by the armed forces.

IANS